I would have never guessed what that was...looks like a shoe horn ;P
The patent elucidates a bit more...
"In husking corn by hand, the hand in which
the ear of corn is held soon becomes bruised
and sore from the ear of corn rubbing against
the top of the band while breaking it from the
stalk.
As my device is intended to be applied
to the hand in which the stalk is held, this
difficulty is overcome, and the ear is severed
from the stalk by grasping the stalk tightly
between the fingers and shank C, the teeth or
sharpened edge of the top plate penetrating
the stalk, so that by a slight transverse move-
ment of the ear of corn the stalk is readily re-
moved."
I guess that makes it an edge tool ;P
